You(TH) decide!
You(th) Decide!
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1131365323729676
In recent years, disappointment with politics and political parties has been increasingly spreading among young people from V4 countries. According to several surveys, more than 80% of young Slovaks are convinced that their political representatives are not interested in them and that youth do not have a real opportunity to get involved in political events or influence decision-making in their surroundings. Civic engagement and youth participation in public affairs in V4 countries significantly lag behind Western EU states.
Involvement in student councils, participation in political discussions, or public gatherings are not considered attractive among young people; on the contrary, distrust in representative democracy and a leaning towards extremist political entities are growing.
The You(TH) Decide! initiative responded to this unfavorable situation with the aim of strengthening civic engagement and contributing to raising awareness about the importance of participation in civil society among young people from V4 countries. A series of three meetings, taking place simultaneously in Košice, Břeclav (CZ), Ryglice (PL), and Törökszentmiklós (HU), showed young people various opportunities for civic involvement in the local community, introduced them to policy-making, the decision-making process, the functioning of local government, and contributed to building their sense of initiative.
The initiative, financially supported by the Visegrad Fund, was coordinated in Slovakia by its overall organizer, the non-governmental organization Youthfully Yours SK. We believe that through its activities, we have not only managed to highlight the importance of the topic and attract the attention of local youth, but also to contribute to the creation of a stable community of youth leaders, determined to actively and long-term motivate their peers towards civic engagement.
How did we do it? Using non-formal education; brainstorming, group work, creative methods, etc., we created a safe space for sharing opinions, discussing, and proposing solutions, to which we invited 20 active young people aged 16-25, representatives of relevant organizations and institutions working with youth, along with representatives of local government from all four participating communities.
How did it go in Slovakia?
And what about Poland?
I.
II.
III.
IV.
And in the Czech Republic? I. II. III.
All four locations were connected by one final conference:
You can read the participants' opinions here:
1 - Participant Noemi's opinion - SK
2 - Participant Natália's opinion - SK
3 - Participant Patrycja's opinion - PL
4 - Participant Attila's opinion - HUN
The You(th) decide! training thus supported the creation of a community which, we believe, will continue to work regularly on the set goals contributing to improving the quality of life for young people in the Košice region.
You(th) decide is financially supported by the Visegrad Fund, and the activities were sponsored by the Chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region and the Mayor of Ryglice (Poland).
Activities were developed in parallel in 4 Visegrad Four countries in cooperation with partners: